The present invention relates to resealable containers such as those used for the storage of food stuffs.
Containers for the storage of food in household refrigerators or freezers are well known to the prior art. Ideally such containers are inexpensive, easy to fill and to seal, and of a shape which makes efficient use of the space in the refrigerator or freezer in question. The least expensive containers are plastic bags which may be sealed by any of a number of methods. Although these containers are inexpensive, they are difficult to fill without an additional supporting apparatus. In addition, due to their non-rigid shape they are difficult to stack in the refrigerator or freezer; hence they are inefficient in their space utilization.
Numerous reusable rigid wall plastic containers are also known to the prior art. These containers are expensive, but reusable. They are easy to fill and seal and stack well in the refrigerator or freezer. However, they tend to loose their shape after several washings in modern dishwashers. As a result, they begin seal poorly and must be discarded. Ideally, one would like to have an inexpensive disposable or semi-disposable container which is rigid and rectangular in shape for efficient use of storage space. Unfortunately, the cost of shipping such rigid containers places a lower limit on their cost.
Many foodstuffs come in containers which must be discarded after use. Ideally, these containers could be used at least once for food storage after they are emptied of their original contents. For example, milk and other liquids are sold in leakproof paper containers of a standard size. Unfortunately, when emptied, these containers are of little use. The opening provided for dispensing milk or other material from these containers is usually too small to allow easy refilling, and more importantly no way is provided for reestablishing a substantially airtight seal. Various forms of sealing materials can be used to seal these containers such as aluminum foil; however, containers covered with a flexible sealing material are difficult to stack on top of each other and obtaining and maintaining a good seal is not easy.
Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, easily resealable container which can also be easily stacked on top of one another in a refrigerator or like space.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means for recycling containers of the type used for packaging milk or other liquids.
These and other objects of the present invention will become evident from the following detailed description of the invention and accompanying drawings.